Pakistan is now ready to introduce battery-powered electric buses in the country. In the first phase they operate between Islamabad and Lahore.An agreement between the Chinese car giant Skywell Automobile and Daewoo Pakistan has been signed here today.
As part of the strategic alliance agreement, Skywell Automobile will build an electric vehicle chain across Pakistan. According to Fawad Chaudhry, Minister of Science and Technology (S&T), the ultimate goal is to make buses on roads in Pakistan emission-free.
Future of Public Transport in Pakistan shaped today....... #ElectricVehicles pic.twitter.com/kzuzsSCTjQ
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 26, 2020
"As Pakistan moves towards an electric vehicle regime, these new fuel-powered vehicles will help the country achieve this goal at high speed," said Fawad Chaudhry at the signing of the agreement.
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Earlier in a tweet, Chaudhry had described the deal as a big step towards delivering on another promise. "Pakistan has electric buses from this year and we will be able to produce them locally for the next three years," said Chaudhry.
According to the Ministry of S&T, motorcycles after buses will also be converted into electricity. The first electric vehicle charging station has recently been installed on Jinnah Avenue Islamabad.
Auto industry expert Zubair Warraich believed Pakistan's auto industry would change rapidly in the coming years. “We want to take advantage of China's unprecedented progress in this sector,” he said, adding that Chinese diesel bus manufacturer Yutong and electric vehicle manufacturer Skywell have been recognized as world leaders in the transportation industry.
The company will invest $ 30 billion in providing bus units and improving the country's transportation infrastructure, he said.
Not only will this boost our economy, but it will also create hundreds and thousands of new jobs, employment and investment opportunities, he said.
Daewoo representative Sheriar Hussain said Pakistan's transportation industry is currently moving from diesel buses to hybrid buses. “We saw BRT buses in Peshawar and now moving from hybrid to the electric bus regime. In addition, the impact on our environment would be very positive, ”he said From hybrids to battery-powered buses
The environment was at the center of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) manifesto and the government has made efforts to promote the presence of green vehicles and improve air quality in the country's largest cities.
At the inauguration of the first electric vehicle charging station in July, Federal Energy Minister Umar Ayub Khan announced that the government would soon set up 24 electric vehicle charging stations across the country.
